


hell is full of musical amateurs (those who were seen dancing where thought to be insane) (Danse Macabre)

by MadHare0512



Series: fantasy seems to have become reality (love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment) [5]
Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bullying, Cages, Cuddling & Snuggling, DJs, Death by Rat, Dorks in Love, Episode: s01s05 Danse Macabre, F/M, Food chain, For That Matter, Gay, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, He trusts Rosalee to know what's good for her, Health problems, Heart Isuues, Homophobia, Interrogation, Kissing, M/M, Mates, Minor Touch Repulsion, Multi, Musophobia, Nick knows but hasn't told anyone, Nick loves his partners, Parental Talking-Tos, Police, Police Proceedings, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Pretending It Isn't Homophobia When It Is, Pretending it Isn't Racism When It Is, Protective Monroe (Grimm), Protective Rosalee, Racism, Raves, Rosalee went to a rave, Running, Sarcasm, Soulmates, Suspension, Teenage Dorks in Love, Violins, Wesen, Wesen Character(s), again not a lot but I put the warning just in case, altered timeline, but I'm putting the warning just in case, but like it's there, don't do drugs kids, listen in writing for this episode i forgot that Hank calls Nick 'my child", neither are mentioned in great detail, not like a lot, so while there's no tag for it please know I had an entire cute overload for that, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26140789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHare0512/pseuds/MadHare0512
Summary: Music is something to be loved and cherished. Music means something to everyone, though not everyone listens to music. Music is as beautiful as it is soothing, calming even the angriest hearts. Some will listen to angry music and that is perfectly normal.But don't listen too closely to the music. You may find a hidden message too dark to ever be shared."Out they scampered from doors, windows, and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper."
Relationships: Nick Burkhardt & Hank Griffin, Nick Burkhardt/Monroe, Nick Burkhardt/Rosalee Calvert, Nick Burkhardt/Rosalee Calvert/Monroe, Rosalee Calvert/Monroe
Series: fantasy seems to have become reality (love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617997
Kudos: 26





	hell is full of musical amateurs (those who were seen dancing where thought to be insane) (Danse Macabre)

**Author's Note:**

> I switched up the story big time in terms of secondary characters, but other than that, it's the same. I just thought Roddy could've done better with someone else. Then my brain said, "Make it gay," and who was I to refuse.

hell is full of musical amateurs (those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane)  
(Danse Macabre)

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: Canon Divergence, Altered Timeline**

_"Hell is full of musical amateurs."  
_ _~George Bernard Shaw_

 _"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."  
_ _~Friedrich Nietzsche_

Music is something to be loved and cherished. Music means something to everyone, though not everyone listens to music. Music is as beautiful as it is soothing, calming even the angriest hearts. Some will listen to angry music and that is perfectly normal.

But don't listen too closely to the music. You may find a hidden message too dark to ever be shared.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

_"Out they scampered from doors, windows, and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper."_

The air was hot in the giant warehouse, but the music was loud and the people dancing couldn't be bothered to care. They moved their bodies to the music erratically, some of them drunk, some of them not, and some of them a little bit of both. They jumped and spun, throwing their hands high into the air and not caring in the slightest about anything but the music. The lights around them flickered to life, bathing the room in bright colors as the glow from their outfits strengthened and weakened accordingly.

"Retchid Kat! Retchid Kat! Retchid Kat!" they chanted,

Above it all, Sam Lawrence looked over the chanting audience and smiled. He glanced back with a nod and smiled, "They love you." Sammy turned to the kid sitting on the couch and held up his fingers like a gun, "Kill 'em." The kid, Retchid Kat, sighed. He stood and reached over to a closed tub and popped open the lid. He reached in and pulled out a big pink cat head and began walking out of the room, pulling the mask onto his head as he did. Sammy followed him with a grin.

The audience continued chanting, cheering when Retchid Kat came walking out with his hype man behind him. The people went crazy, cheering long and loud for the DJ as he threw his hands out, presenting himself to the audience. Retchid Kat put his hands on the equipment and began manipulating it to produce its sound. House music began playing and the crowd cheered again, wildly dancing to the music once more. Strobe lights flicker as the crowd whooped and hollered, happily dancing and jumping to the music, following Retchid Kat's lead.

On the dance floor, two girls were texting their friend group, _omg. DJ Retchid Kat! Killing it! Wish you were here!_. The text was sent and the girls put their phones away, dancing away without a care in the world.

The text was received by phone, the owner of which was playing Danse Macabre with their group. They'd been practicing half the night, desperately trying to learn it well enough to impress the people they were performing with and for, but mostly just hoping to be able to go home. They didn't do it well enough, however, as their instructor stood and called, "No, no no, no." The man turned to one of the boys and sighed, "Mr. Brimley, it is a violin, not a saw. We only have until Saturday to get this right. We can stay here all night if we have to." He turned and went back to his seat.

The boy sitting next to Mr. Brimley looked at him and said, "Carter, dude, get it right."

Carter nodded, knowing all of them wanted to go home and sleep. He didn't want this chair in the first place, but he'd try his best anyway. They readied their instruments as Mr. Lawson sighed, "Again, from the 14th."

When practice was finally over, the students packed up their things and left hurriedly, not wanted Mr. Lawson to change his mind and drag them back into practice. They had testing to study for and other things they wanted to do that didn't involve the rapid abuse of their dedicated teacher.

Mr. Lawson sighed, they weren't performance worthy yet, but they'd get there if they had to pull all-nighters again. He packed his things up and began heading out to go home himself. Mr. Lawson made it out to his car, unlocking the door and getting in. He set his briefcase in the passenger seat and closed the door, putting the key in the ignition. Once the car was started, Mr. Lawson turned on the radio, tuned it to the classical station, and put on his seatbelt. It was as he'd put a hand on his steering wheel that he felt something moved against his foot.

The rat squeaked when he laid eyes on it, moving away from the offending prod of his foot and closer to the seat Mr. Lawson sat in. When Mr. Lawson looked up, he caught sight of dozens of more rats crawling up from his backseat. He started to panic as more rats came rushing in the car. He screamed, but no one was around to hear. In staying to make sure the kids where perfect, he'd driven off the only help he could've gotten. As the rats began biting in his flesh like starved creatures, Mr. Lawson began screaming more, forgetting in his panic that he was perfectly capable of opening the door and getting out that way.

The car bucked and protested under the man's struggling but with no one around, His chest began to hurt and he knew that his time was up. Mr. Lawson soon succumbed to the pain and the car stilled. Some of the rats scurried out once they'd had their fill and raced back to the holes and crevices they'd come from, leaving only the music behind to break the silence of the night.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Nick was doing better since the _Ziegevolk_ case. In the days after, he'd jumped anytime anyone touched him, though he couldn't say why. Maybe it was the lingering pheromones, maybe it wasn't, but Nick hadn't wanted anyone touching him and it took him three days to move past it. He couldn't stay home, but he did his best to keep contact to a minimum. Now, he thought, that he felt at home in his skin again it would be better.

He spent the next thirty minutes on the way to the next crime scene berating himself for thinking the life of a cop/Grimm was ever going to be okay.

It was first important to mention that his day had started a little later than normal. He'd worn short sleeves to bed, which was the first indicator to his lovers that he was feeling better, and forgone pulling on the usual button-up until he had to leave. Rosalee had the day off and she was making breakfast for them. She'd also gotten a bit of a late start, but she was determined to make up for it, almost done by the time Nick came to the kitchen. Monroe was upstairs, showering after his morning routine, and wouldn't be down for a bit.

Nick walked into the kitchen and smiled, "Smoothies." He hugged Rosalee from behind and kissed her cheek.

"I need ice, it's in the freezer," Rosalee replied. When Nick burrowed closer to her back, she laughed and glanced over her shoulder. Teasingly, she said "The freezer, not my shoulder."

"Just warming up. It's gonna be cold over there." Nick then let her go and headed over to the fridge. He opened the freezer door and reached for the ice, but pulled back quickly with a sigh. "I think we have a problem," he told Rosalee.

Rosalee glanced at Nick, cleaning the remaining fruit from her fingers, "We can stop by the Spice Shop and see about a remedy if you're that cold today."

"No, with the ice," Nick pulled the drawer out and carefully took it over to the sink, draining the water from the drawer into the sink. "There isn't any."

Rosalee gasped, "Oh no!" She rushed over, closing the freezer door and opening the fridge door and checking the contents, taking in their scents and their temperatures, "It's all warm. Nothing's spoiled yet, but it will soon."

"I don't think it'll all fit in the blender," Nick agreed as his phone rang. He smiled as Rosalee's teasing glare then answered, "Yeah, Burkhardt."

" _We've got a case,_ " Hank replied.

"Where?" Nick asked.

" _I'll pick you and tell you about it on the way,_ " Hank replied.

"Okay, I'll be ready in five," Nick started to hang up but stopped when Hank called his name.

" _Nick, I'm warning you now,_ " Hank's voice was deadly serious, " _It isn't pretty._ "

Nick raised an eyebrow but replied with an affirmative and hung up. He turned to Rosalee with an apologetic smile, "I've gotta head in, Hank's gonna pick me up."

"Okay, I'll call the repairman and ask Monroe to drop off your jeep." Rosalee closed the fridge door with a growl and snagged the home phone, "I hope none of it goes bad before the repair person gets here."

Nick smiled and stepped closer, kissing Rosalee's cheek. "I'm sure it'll all be fine, Rose." He checked the time, "Hank will be here any minute." With that, he went upstairs to change into the traditional long-sleeved button-up he wore to work.

He called goodbye to Monroe through the door and went back downstairs just as Hank called him on the phone to tell Nick he was there. Nick pressed another kiss to Rosalee's hair, "Love you!" Then he was racing out the door to get to the crime scene.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

The scene was flooded with people when they got there. Nick weaved around everyone with skills honed by years of experience rushing through crowds to get to victims of a crime, to his partners, or a class. He and Hank ducked the tape and headed straight for Seargent Wu, who was speaking with a dark-haired woman a few inches taller than him.

"Detectives Burkhardt and Griffin, this is assistant principal Grace Kaplan," Wu introduced the woman. "She found the body about an hour ago. Says it's Paul Lawson, a music teacher here."

"He was the director of the music program," Mrs. Kaplan interjected. "I just can't believe this has happened. It's so horrible."

Nick knew this woman was genuine from the way she said the words, the tone of her voice. "Well, do you want to tell us what happened?" he asked.

"I saw the car when I came in the morning," Mrs. Kaplan explained. "It's a little unusual for anyone to be here before me, that's why I walked over to the car." She pointed out the car and Nick followed her gaze to the smaller vehicle. She shook her head, brown hair swaying with her movement, "I'm sorry."

Sgt Wu took them to see the car, "Looks to me like it happened sometime last night, he's been dead for a few hours. Car's locked, we kept it that way. Got some evidence inside, we didn't want it to get away."

Nick's shock was visible on his face as he looked inside the car. The body was unidentifiable, the face was eaten away until parts of the skull where visible. The eye sockets were clean, nothing left but bone, and a large grey rat climbed into the body's mouth. Nick's stomach turned unpleasantly and he knew he'd end up skipping lunch. He was just grateful he wasn't sick in the middle of the parking lot. No one would blame him, of course, this case was already difficult, but that wasn't something he needed to happen.

"Death by rats?" Nick asked, suppressing a shudder as the rats continued to sniff around the body. He hoped they didn't keep eating otherwise he _would_ get sick in the parking lot.

"Looks like," Sgt Wu replied.

Hank made a disgusted noise, "Oh god, _rats_. I can't stand rats." Nick felt more than heard him back away a few paces.

When Nick glanced back, Hank was just a little bit paler, so Nick decided to let him compose himself. "Coroner here?" he asked Wu.

"Yeah, waiting for you. So is animal control. Nobody wants to open the door until you guys give the okay." Wu folded his arms, looking slightly disgusted as he stared at the rats in the car.

Nick briefly wondered how one could get a ton of rats into a car without someone noticing.

Hank asked, "Fingerprints done?"

Wu nodded, "Yeah, we're good to go."

Nick nodded back, "Open it up."

Sgt Wu looked back and gestured for and officer to come over. "Let's go!" he called

Nick backed up a few paces himself, catching his breath while he could. He watched as the officer came over quickly, then waited for the animal control officer. When the animal control officers got into position, the officer nodded and popped the door's lock. When the animal control officers nodded back, the officer pulled open the door and stepped back several paces. A cascade of rats came scurrying from the car; the floorboards and backseat where covered in the small creatures. Someone screamed and as the smell drifted out, a few people ran for the nearest trash cans. Several of the rats escaped the officers and went running, prompting several more animal control officers to run after them and catch then in nets.

A rat went scurrying over where Nick had been standing not moments before but didn't get near Nick as the young man watched the remaining rats continue to sniff around the body. Hank groaned in disgust behind Nick and the smaller male couldn't help but agree. Sgt Wu turned to Nick as he said, "We also found some cages in the bushes you should look at.

Nick nodded and followed Wu, careful not to step on any stragglers as he did. The chaos behind them continued, but Nick blocked it out in favor of the cages he and Hank were shown.

"Whoever chucked these didn't make much of an effort," Hank observed. He was right, most people made more of an effort to hide the evidence of their misdeeds.

Nick wasn't interested in the cages or why they were hidden so badly. He was more interested in the tag on the side of the cage. "Gieger Pest Control. We know them?" he glanced up at Wu, the idea currently forming in his mind clear in his eyes.

"They're in northeast Portland, by the river," Wu gently placed the cage back on the ground. "According to the assistant principal, Lawson was here late last night rehearsing for a school performance supposed to happen last Saturday. Glad I'm not a ticket holder."

That's right, Monroe had mentioned a school performance of an old classic he'd loved when he was going through the steps to control his instincts.

"Did anyone see him leave?" Hank asked.

Wu shook his head, "Still checking. But we got names of the four students he was rehearsing."

They took the names and started heading out. As they rolled up to the first kid's house, the gate opened before them and they glanced as each other as they continued up the driveway. "Nice house," Hank observed.

Nick, with his minor obsession, noticed the numerous vehicles. "Nice cars," he added in.

"And bad things still happen," Hank finished decisively.

They headed up and knocked on the door, getting let in by a tall man with the stereotypical butler's British accent. Nick could've laughed at the sight, but he swallowed back the urge. Instead, he focused on the kid they were questioning. "What time did the practice end? he asked.

"A little after 10," replied Sarah Jessup.

"Did Lawson leave with you?" Hank asked.

"No," replied Carter Brimley, "He always stays to close up."

"Did anybody see him leave the building?" Nick continued.

Hank built off that, "Did any of you see anything strange when you left? Anything unusual, maybe a car you hadn't seen before? Somebody standing around?"

Marvin Gates shook his head, "We just went to our cars and left."

Sarah backed him up, "It was late, so we had to get home."

"We still had homework," Trey Harrison finally spoke up.

"Did Doctor Lawson seem a little nervous last night?" Nick asked. "Maybe a little upset?

Sarah nodded, "Yes, but that was, um- That was just Dr. Lawson."

"We found some cages in the brush near the parking lot. Did you see anybody near there when you left for your cars?" Hank asked.

"What kind of cages?" Carter asked, perking up a bit. He looked like he may know something about it.

"Used for trapping rodents," Hank explained.

Carter's face fell and he shook his head, "No."

Nick and Hank glanced at each other and nodded, starting to head out. "Well," Nick concluded, "If you can think of anything else..." he handed Mrs. Jessup the usual card as they headed for the door.

Sarah sat up a little straighter, "Roddy Geiger went to our school."

Nick and Hank both whipped back around upon hearing the name. "Who?" Hank asked.

"His Dad's an exterminator," Sarah replied.

With another glance, Nick and Hank were on the same page, "Geiger Pest Control?"

Carter shook his head, "Roddy wouldn't do this."

"Geiger's son goes to your school?" Hank asked.

"He _did_ ," replied Trey.

"Roddy got suspended a couple of days ago," Marvin added in.

Nick inclined his head, "Why?"

Mrs. Jessup chose that moment to speak up, "If this is about that situation, maybe you'd better speak to the school. That's a very troubled boy. I don't think it's appropriate to talk to the kids about him."

Nick half expected her to _woge_ into an animal-like form, but she stayed human and Nick was pleasantly surprised. He nodded, then looked back at the kids, "If there's anything else, Mrs. Jessup has the number. Give us a call." Then he and Hank where gone, heading off to the school to speak about the suspension. Then, to Roddy Geiger himself to get the other half of the story.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

They got the first half of the story rather quickly for a school. Part of Nick wanted to think that they would happily pass this kid off to the police and after a glance over his school record, he saw why. They headed off to the Geiger house, out near the river as the Seargent had said. As they stepped out of the car, Nick heard the violin and sighed. The playing was beautiful, hardly a flaw in the music at all. Nick couldn't name what the song was, but Monroe had played it once and it was just as beautiful in real-time as it was on a record.

Nick took the lead, "Nice house."

"Yeah, and nice cars." Hank glanced at the van.

Nick tilted his head, "Nice music."

Hank nodded, "It's coming from over there."

They began heading that way. Rocks and gravel crunched under their feet as they walked toward the music. Inside the structure were cages upon cages filled with rats. They all had their focus turned to the boy sitting on the table, some swaying in time to the music, others simply watching. The boy on the table had a mop of untamed curls and his eyes were closed as he swayed to the music he was playing. As far as Nick could tell, this boy was giving out all the right cues to be a professional violinist. His bow was steady, back straight, hands in the right positions; Hell, he was playing with his eyes closed.

Nick was stunned for a heartbeat, then mentally gave himself a shake. "Captivated audience," he observed, voicing the thought out loud. He knew then that this wouldn't be a normal case.

Then, as if he could sense their presence, Roddy looked up and the music stopped. He glanced over at them and lowered his violin.

"Roddy Geiger?" Nice asked as they stepped over the log and over to the boy.

"Yeah?" Roddy replied.

"I'm Detective Burkhardt," Nick indicated his friend, "This is Detective Griffin."

"You're pretty good on that violin," Hank praised the boy.

Roddy inclined his head in acknowledgment but didn't respond otherwise. "What do you want?" he asked instead.

"We wanna ask you a few questions," Hank replied evenly.

A grey-haired man came over, determination in his stride as he demanded more that inquired, "You cops?"

"Yeah, we've been called worse." Hank glanced at Nick with a straight face, but laughing eyes.

"What do you want here?" the man asked as Roddy stood and set his violin down.

"Are you Mr. Geiger?" Nick asked.

The man's eyes hardened to steel, voice cracking like ice. "You're here about that teacher dying, aren't you?" he demanded. "I heard all about it. Well, we had nothing to do with it!"

Hank made his voice calm, "Take it easy, sir. We just want to ask a few questions."

Roddy looked at Nick, "Who died?"

"Dr. Lawson was found dead in his car this morning," Nick replied. He wondered if this kid would be apologetic or simply upset. The way he played the violin suggested he'd spent time with Dr. Lawson.

Mr. Geiger interjected, snapping to his son, "You don't talk to them until I find out what their gonna do."

Nick found this man a tad bit strange, but adhered to the man none the less when he stared at Nick and asked, "What are you gonna do, arrest us? You gonna arrest me? You gonna arrest my boy?"

Nick decided it was time for this man to stop escalating, "Sir, you need to calm down." _Don't make us arrest you in front of your kid. Or worse._ he pleaded mentally. He saw the look on the man's face. It was the same look some of the people in New York gave just before they reached for a weapon.

The man snapped, "Don't tell me to calm down, I know what's going on here. They're trying to blame us for what happened up there and I'm tired of them treating us like garbage."

Hank looked very sick of this and then did something Nick hadn't been expecting. He reached out and snagged Roddy's wrist. "Stop," he said. Roddy struggled against him, pulling with his weight on his back foot for leverage. Hank wasn't to be deterred and held firm.

"Take your hands off him!" Mr. Geiger shouted.

"Don't move," Hank told Roddy.

"Leave him alone!" Suddenly Mr. Geiger's skin crawled and shifted into a more rat-like appearance. His eyes where beady and face pinched, giving him a perpetually shady look. Nick startled, flinching backward. Then the shift was gone as Mr. Geiger shouted, "Leave him alone!" He lunged forward aiming a punch at Hank's head.

Nick caught him as Hank deflected the punch, ending with Mr. Geiger on his knees. He struggled against them, angry and sharp noises coming from his throat. "Stop resisting, you're only making it worse!" Hank snapped as he dug the handcuffs from his back pocket. "I got him," he said to Nick.

Nick nodded and took off after Roddy, who'd used the split second of chaos to run off. Roddy was racing for the lake. The younger boy had the advantage of speed, but Nick was (for once) taller than him and quickly ate up the distance between them. Nick tackled Roddy and popped up as Roddy scrambled to his feet, raising his fists. Nick shook his head, panting lightly. "I don't want to hurt you," he told the younger boy.

"Yeah, you do," Roddy snapped. "You're a _Grimm_. You wanna kill me."

He didn't let his show on his face, but Nick was damn tired of every single _Wesen_ thinking he was going to kill them. Then he focused back on Roddy as the boy came rushing at him, face _woged._ Nick shocked him right in the face, hearing a sharp crunch as the cartilage of his nose bent under Nick's fist. Surprisingly, it didn't break. "I'm not gonna kill you," Nick informed Roddy. "But you keep this up, you're gonna get hurt." Nick didn't want to, but he'd certainly do so if needed.

Roddy sat up, his knees taking the brunt of his weight. "You're not gonna kill me?" he asked.

Nick shook his head, "I'm not gonna kill you. If your Dad would've just calmed down, we wouldn't have done this at all."

Roddy began to get to his feet, face wary. "Okay," he said.

Nick nodded, "Let's get you to the station. We seriously just want to ask a few questions."

Roddy timidly nodded again, "Okay."

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

They managed to get the duo into interrogation quickly and quietly. Hank decided it would be Nick that dealt with Roddy. Hank said it was because Nick was better at handling kids, but Nick thought it had more to do with the fact that Mr. Geiger had punched Hank and Hank was angry about it.

Nick let the cop mask soften a bit, being gentle in the face of a terrified teenager. "What was the fight at school about?" he asked.

Roddy was pacing the room, all nervous energy, and a younger man's stamina. "They don't like me, I don't like them."

"Yeah, you don't hide it very well," Nick replied.

"Don't I? Really? That's so sad," Roddy's attitude was pure sarcasm as he continued pacing.

Nick sighed and sat down, letting Roddy continue pacing in hopes of getting him a bit more at ease. "I get it. You're the outsider, no one understands the world the way you do. Maybe you shouldn't expect them to."

Roddy stopped at the window and looked at Nick. "I certainly don't expect a _Grimm_ too."

Nick sighed again. "Do you know many Grimms?" he asked.

Roddy shook his head, anger sparking in his eyes, "I don't need to." He went back to pacing.

Nick wanted to roll his eyes. Kids were so hard to interrogate; all untamed arrogance and unadulterated rage, thinking they knew everything when they truly knew nothing. "Okay, so you know all about me because you've heard a bunch of stories about me. You know everything you need to know. So, if I asked these kids at school, they'd tell me everything I need to know, and it'd all be true, right?" he asked.

"Just because they don't know me, that doesn't mean that you do," Roddy snapped back.

"According to school records, Dr. Lawson reported you for attacking Carter Brimley and Trey Harrison," Nick stated.

"I didn't-" Roddy's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, I attacked them after they jumped me."

Nick looked back down at the files, "According to Marvin-"

"Marvin?" Roddy snapped, "They're little butter boy? Cause he wouldn't lie."

"Maybe this thing didn't turn out the way you planned. Maybe you were just trying to scare your teacher," Nick offered.

Roddy rolled his eyes, muttered, "Planned. Sure." Out loud he added, "I wasn't there last night."

"Where were you?" Nick asked.

"I was at a rave," Roddy replied.

"Where?" Nick questioned.

Roddy looked hesitant, "Down by the river."

"Be more specific."

"It's an old building on Front Street."

"Anybody there with you?"

"Only about a couple hundred."

"Could any of them _identify_ you?" Nick asked.

"One," Roddy replied.

"Got a name?" Nick was so tired of the back and forth game. Teens often played it in hopes of getting out of whatever trouble they were in or in hopes of avoiding whatever punishment they may receive.

"So you can arrest him for putting on an illegal rave?" Roddy asked incredulously.

Nick smiled sarcastically, "Yeah. That's my dream."

Roddy scoffed and went back to pacing restlessly.

"Look, you have to prove to me where you were last night or you'll go to jail for this." Nick leaned back.

Roddy sighed, finally plopping himself in the chair, "His name is Sammy Lawrence."

Nick nodded, "Thank you. We'll confirm you're alibi and I'll be back in a bit. Want some water or anything?"

Roddy shook his head, staring at the table with a pensive look in his eyes. Nick stood to leave. As he got to the door, Roddy called, "Detective?"

Nick looked back and raised an eyebrow.

Roddy bit his lip. "You talked to Carter?"

Nick nodded, "And Sarah, Trey, and Marvin."

"Is Carter okay?"

Nick considered the boy in front of him. Roddy was watching him worriedly, eyes wide like he couldn't believe he'd asked that, but he'd had to know. Nick decided to take pity and nodded. "He's fine, Roddy."

Roddy nodded, "Um, can I ask a favor?"

Nick nodded, "You can ask, but no guarantees."

Roddy held out a slip of paper, dug up from his pocket, "Could you maybe give this to him?"

Nick thought about it, then nodded, "Sure, kid." He took the slip of paper and slid it into his pocket. He headed out and gave the name to Wu, then quietly let him know he was following up on another lead. He'd be back in a half an hour at most.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Nick came back just as Wu was telling Hank who Roddy Geiger was. He slid into his chair quietly as Wu said, "Your perp is DJ Retchid Kat."

Hank glanced at Nick, then back at Wu, "Who's DJ Retchid Kat?"

The Seargent looked at Nick, body tense as he turned to face the dark-haired male, "Tell me you know."

The name rang a bell, but Nick's mind was busy with other things, so he couldn't quite put it together. None the less, he replied, "Of course I know. Everybody knows." Small pause for effect, then, "Who's DJ Retchid Kat." Bells were going off, but nobody was home to answer them.

Their Seargent looked fully fed up as he said as if it were the most obvious thing ever, "Only the most popular raver in all of Portland!"

The bells were finally answered. Rosalee had mentioned going to a rave once, comparing the DJs and calling DJ Amerion tone-deaf when compared to Retchid Kat. She'd played Nick a clip of the rave before deleting it and any mention of the rave.

"Not that men of your age would know what I'm talking about," Wu continued.

"You didn't know either," Hank accused as Nick raised an eyebrow at Wu.

"Not until I talked to Sammy," Wu replied, "DJ Retchid Kat always wears a big cat head, Sammy was the only one who knows who he is, and he swears it was your guy."

Nick nodded, "So his alibi is good."

"But not his Dad's," Hank reminded them.

"Except why would he leave his cages at the school?"

"Not so clever. Unless he wanted us to believe somebody stole them."

"Then it's clever," Wu added in.

"Let Roddy go, hold onto the Dad?" Nick asked, mind working at what was going on here.

"Absolutely," Hank agreed. "Not to mention, he assaulted an officer. He deserves a little downtime for that alone."

Nick smiled as he stood to go and get Roddy. He stood in the doorway as he said, "You're free to go."

Roddy stared at him in a slightly hostile way, "What about my Dad?"

Nick shook his head, "Not until we verify his alibi."

Roddy sighed, "You know he can't do that." He shoulder-checked Nick as he headed out the door, then nearly bowled Hank over as he angrily left the room. He swiped his hand across the chair, knocking the papers that sat on the neighboring desk to the floor.

"Pretty excited about being let go," Hank said to Nick.

"Oh, yeah. I had to stop him from yodeling," Nick replied dryly.

Hank laughed, then said, "Harper called. Dead guy wants to see us."

They headed down there, where the body was still absolutely disgusting and made Nick's stomach turn unpleasantly. "He died of a heart attack," Harper told them.

"So the rats _scared_ him to death?" Nick clarified.

Harper shook her head, "Well they didn't help, but he was on Digoxin and Angiotensin for his heart." She looked at the body with pity in her eyes, "He was kinda high up on Death's to-do list."

"So," Hank glanced over the body. "The rats were put in the car to kill him."

Harper nodded, " _If_ they knew about his condition. But no guarantee a scare like that would trigger a heart attack."

"Prank gone bad," Hank mused as Harper began shuffling around, putting away tools and checking her chart.

"Yeah, or a threat," Nick replied.

Hank agreed, "Then it's probably Roddy's Dad."

Had Roddy not had an alibi, Nick would've thought it would be Roddy. However, with the alibi and the story he was given by the recipient of the letter he'd delivered, Nick knew that Roddy wasn't anything but the victim of a vindictive teenage clique. "A homicide occurred in the course of intentional maiming of the victim, so it's aggravated murder."

Harper came back to them with a tray, "I did find something interesting in my other autopsies."

Nick immediately swept around and waited semi-patiently for Harper to show them. Hank wasn't so easily swayed, "What other autopsies?"

Harper paid him no mind, reaching over to turn on the light and then pulling back the sheet to reveal the corpses of three rats with their organs exposed to the outside world.

Hank groaned, "Oh man," and turned away. "There goes lunch."

"Speaking of, a rat's stomach is like a road map to where they've been." Harper raised her clamps and pulled out some solid pieces, "Here we have some undigested bits of your victim; some colored cloth, and nylon fibers that didn't match any of the clothes he was wearing."

Nick followed her as she took a piece of the mentioned undigested bits and stuck it under a magnifying glass. "They were chewing on something else on the car?" he asked.

"Probably before Doctor Lawson got in," Harper agreed.

"Take a look at this," Nick directed at Hank.

Hank groaned disgustedly. "Do I have to?" Nonetheless, he came over and looked it over. "It's green and red," he observed.

"The same colors as the music school," Nick informed him.

"Let's find out if it matches anything in Lawson's car."

Soon after, they were pulled into Renard's office. He showed them the headline for the newspaper. "'Rats dine on a beloved teacher.'"

"That's a little cold," Nick said from where he sat leaned on the table against the wall.

"Guess who came to dinner," Hank replied.

"What do you have on this?" Renard asked. "Press wants a statement."

"We have one suspect in custody," Nick informed him.

Renard turned back to his screen, "Has he been charged?"

"We have enough evidence, but we're not sure he's our guy," Hank answered.

"We're waiting on some lab results," Nick added.

"Well, I've got a dead popular teacher at a private school. I'd like an answer before politics screw things up," Renard pinned the Detectives with a sharp eye and they nodded.

( _On the other side of town, Roddy had gone to the home of Sarah to confront her. She didn't know about him, but she was one of the few who would be vengeful enough to frame him. Sarah's mother came to find her daughter and was upset when she found Roddy there, demanding he left immediately. When he headed out, he saw Trey coming in. Carter was in the passenger seat, he ducked his head when Roddy caught his eyes, his hat covering them when Roddy tried to catch his eye again._

_When Trey taunted him, Carter hit his arm and asked for them to just go. "Trey, he's already suspended, what more do you want?"_

_Roddy looked like he'd gotten punched in the gut. "Going out with Sarah now? I thought she wasn't your type," he asked Carter._

_Carter didn't answer. Roddy left in disappointment._ )

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

"Preliminary lab results just came in on the fibers found in the rat's stomach," Hank set the papers down on Nick's part of the desk. "Some of them were nylon, the kind found in car carpeting. BMW, Audi, Porche. You know, the kind of vehicles we don't drive."

"And neither do the Geigers," Nick replied, placing the file he'd been reading through back down on the desk with a sigh.

"The fibers are from blankets," Hank continued.

They were interrupted by Wu, who leaned down and quietly said, "There's a Mrs. Jessup here to see you. She's got, uh- How can I say this? _Smoke_ coming out of a lot of orifices." He turned and gestured to the woman, leaning in again, "Good luck." Then he was gone.

"Why hasn't Roddy Geiger been arrested?" asked Mrs. Jessup as she stopped at their desk. She glanced between the pair, eyes hard as steel, "He came to my house and he harassed my daughter, this boy is out of control. He got himself thrown out of school for fighting-"

Hank cut in, "We can't arrest Roddy Geiger or anybody without evidence."

"Well, then _get_ some, before anybody else dies," Mrs. Jessup demanded. "I do not want him coming to my house."

Hank looked thoroughly done, so Nick cut in, "Why is he coming to your house?"

"My daughter went out with him a couple of times before he and Carter Brimley met and he was over there all the time. I'm sure he thinks he owns her. If my husband sees him again, I'm afraid of what he'll do. That boy does _not_ belong in our school."

Nick remembered the note he'd been asked to pass on to Carter. He wondered what was going on between the three, knowing that Carter and Sarah had been holding hands during the questioning. Hank, having been a victim of discrimination based on many different things many different times, got angry on Roddy's behalf. "Or in your neighborhood?" he asked quietly. Hank wondered what the woman would say to a black man about this kind of thing.

Mrs. Jessup, to her credit, avoided the question entirely, "Shouldn't you be writing this down? I am filing a report, aren't I?"

Nick had seen the look she was giving Hank in many people's eyes. When his card didn't work in the grocery store; when he running through the streets after a suspect who'd run; when he was dealing with a racist or homophobic asshole; when he was walking around in public with Rosalee and Monroe. It was the look of a person who saw someone as lesser than them. Hank leaned over to grab a pen, glancing at Nick as he did so. Nick replied by the widening of his eyes and a glance down. Both of them understood that this was an ignorant woman and neither were quite interested in dealing with her more than they had to.

When the report was done and the woman left, it was finally time for them to head home. "I haven't had that much fun since that drunk threw up on me at the Christmas party," Hank said sarcastically

"Wasn't that Seargent Wu?" Nick asked with a smile, knowing only what he'd heard about the party, he'd been sick that night.

"It was, and I'm meeting him at Clark Lewis for a drink. Wanna go?" Hank inquired.

Nick thought about a way to answer that without hurting Hank. He would, really, but-

Hank sighed, "Don't answer. You've got Monroe and Rosalee. You're in love, you've got a _life_. Go live it, my child. Leave alcohol to those of us who are still searching."

Nick smiled as he headed off. He was happy Hank understood, happy to know that Hank was okay with him not going out with him every chance they got. After the rapid-fire 20 questions game mixed in with the report they'd had to write down, Nick didn't want a night of loud and rambunctious drunk people. He wanted the quiet of his home with his lovers. Or as close to it as he could get.

He headed home quickly, had dinner with Monroe and Rosalee, then quietly asked about _Wesen_ with rat-like features. The repairman still hadn't been by, Monroe had drug the giant cooler they'd had in the garage into the house. Monroe fetched a few beers from the cooler and set them down in front of each of them, " _Reinigen_?"

"They're the bottom of the food chain, Nick," Rosalee stated, coming over with a bottle opener and popping the tops off of the beer bottles.

"And let me tell ya, the food in their chain? Gourmet is not their forte," Monroe added in.

"But their rarely violent unless they're pushed to the limit, right?" Nick asked, picking up the beer bottle.

"Correct," Monroe replied. "If you know that, why are you asking?" the older male tilted his head curiously.

Nick offered a quick smile, "Monroe, how would you feel about talking to one?"

"A _Reinigen_?" Monroe asked, sitting back in his chair. With a sigh, he asked, "I'm not protecting anyone for you, am I? Last time I protected someone for you that was not a pleasant experience." Then he sat straighter, "How is that guy, by the way? Where they able to see his arm back on?"

Nick winced at the thought of his now-late Aunt. He shook his head, "I don't think he's going to be beating anybody up with it again." Sarcasm was a kind of defense, a little bit of wit he utilized to protect himself from the pain he felt when something got to him. His Aunt happened to get to him big time on days where things didn't seem to go right. Or when he was caught off-guard.

He loved Monroe and Rosalee, he knew he was safe here. That sadly didn't mean he wanted to speak about his Aunt Marie so soon. It had only been a month since they laid her in the ground. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

Monroe nodded, taking the deflection for what it was and letting it go. Nick changed the topic back to the original question. "You like music, Monroe. I've heard you play, you're incredible."

"I don't do parties, Nick," Monroe teased.

"This kid, he is pretty incredible too," Nick continued. A flash of grey eyes in Monroe's direction and all three understood the mirth hidden under the surface.

"At what?" Monroe asked.

"Violin. He got a scholarship to the Von Hamlin Institute," Nick replied.

Monroe considered it, then he pinned Nick with a look. "Is this about that teacher who wound up as Ratatouille?"

Nick made a wounded noise and Monroe wanted to curse. Damn that man and his bleeding heart. Then he shook himself mentally, if not for Nick's bleeding heart they'd never have met. Besides, it was one of the things Monroe loved best about his wonderful boyfriend. Nick cared a lot and that sometimes did him more good than not.

"Okay, some people think he was involved. I don't," Nick replied. "This kid is a stick of dynamite. He knows I'm a Grimm-"

"And a cop," Rosalee added helpfully, a smile on her face as she watched her boys parley.

Nick spared her a quick, amused glance as well. "So, he's not exactly open to..."

Monroe nodded, "A heart to heart, I got it. You think he'll listen to me 'cause I play the cello?"

Nick shrugged. "Can't hurt to try."

"Just so you know, _Reinigen_ and _Blutbaden_ are not drinking buddies," Monroe warned him.

Nick offered a smile, gesturing to the beer bottles in front of them, "Neither are _Blutbaden_ and Grimms."

Monroe, to his credit, tried to be serious, but Nick just got to him. With the dry wit and sarcasm, Nick would've made it far had he chosen a profession in entertainment. Then he sobered up, "I've never been much of a do-gooder, Nicky. The only bleeding heart I ever had was a-" he cut off with a punched-out, nervous chuckle. "I mean, that's in the past, I'm just saying."

Nick nodded, "I was different growing up and I know you were too. This kid just needs a little bit of help."

Nick stayed true to his word and didn't use the puppy-dog eyes so often, but Monroe still couldn't say no. Nick was his best friend, his compass, how could Monroe deny him? So, with a sigh, Monroe asked, "He's not a rapper, is he? I mean, nothing against rappers, it's just, you know..." Monroe stood and leaned over to the cooler to grab another beer as his drink seemed to have disappeared. "Where's the melody?"

Nick grinned, then practically tackled Monroe with a hug. "Thank you," he murmured.

Monroe laughed, hugging Nick back. "Yeah, yeah."

Then Nick stepped back and after a brief conversation, ran upstairs for a shower. The victim's body had made his skin crawl unpleasantly and while it had faded away with time, the feeling was still there and Nick would very much like to not feel it. When he came back down, Monroe had run to the grocery for another carton of eggs, as theirs had finally spoiled from sitting out so long while they got things transferred to the cooler. Rosalee stood in the kitchen watching a man crawl around the floor.

The man grunted in pain, "Damn it! I can't get this damn screw loose."

Nick came in and strolled over to Rosalee, who quietly tilted her head for the kiss Nick pressed to her cheek. "How long has this been going on?"

"He got here a bit after you got in the shower. This specific thing has been going on since 4:30. You took a long shower, are you alright?" Rosalee looked him over curiously.

"Just the case. A lot of gross stuff I don't want to talk about," Nick replied, wrapping an arm around Rosalee's waist to pull her close.

"I'm sorry, I'm going as fast as I can," the refrigerator mechanic grunted over his shoulder.

Nick tilted his head. "Will you be done tonight?" he asked curiously.

"What, do you think I'm asleep here?" the repairman asked.

Nick glanced at Rosalee and they shared a smile.

The repairman pulled back suddenly with a hiss, "Aw, crap! I cut my hand."

"I'll get a bandage," Rosalee replied, turning to lean over and snag the first aid kit under the sink.

The repairman sounded shakey and Nick wondered of a cut was all this man received. "I _hate_ this model!" the man complained, hitting the fridge on the drawers. "It's a _deathtrap_."

Nick walked a step or two closer as the man turned still staring at his hand, "Look, it's trying to kill me." The repairman thrust his hand in Nick's direction. The man was still whimpering a bit when Nick stared down at his hand to see the sluggishly bleeding cut on his palm.

Nick was about to ask about a rag to wipe the blood away, but the man suddenly shifted, his skin crawling and growing fur. Nick wasn't startled at this point, but curious and met the change with polite interest so as not to draw any suspicions. This did not help, as the man still stood and backed a pace away shaking.

"Please, please don't, don't hurt me," the man pleaded. He stood stark still and suddenly Rosalee was right there in front of Nick, her eyes on the repair man's shaking form.

"Calm down, sir. This isn't what you think." She held her hands out slowly, the bandage held loosely between her fingers. "Nick won't hurt you. Will you, Nick?"

Nick shook his head, keeping quiet so as not to startle the man further.

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. Nick, you're going to sit down at the table. Slowly and carefully," Rosalee ordered softly.

Nick complied easily. Sitting down with his hands visible and his body relaxed, hoping to keep the repairman calm. Rosalee continued speaking to the repairman, soft and soothing, even _woging_ at one point, until the repairman allowed her to bandage his hand and he carefully began to fix the fridge again, glancing up at Nick every few seconds to be sure the Grimm wouldn't try anything.

Rosalee stood up and proceeded to plant herself in Nick's lap, kissing him within an inch of his life almost as if to prove a point.

Nick made a noise of alarm, wrapping his arms around Rosalee's waist to keep her from falling. When Rosalee pulled back, Nick sat there looking at her for a few minutes, then he smiled, lovestruck and adoring, and let his head fall forward into her shoulder. There he stayed, warm and content until a soft humming told them that the fridge was now fixed. The cold air blasted him, fully turned to the place he was sitting and he got the full brunt of it. Nick suffered through a full-body shiver, tightening his grip on Rosalee until she gently tapped his arm to lead the repairman, Bud, away to talk about pricing.

When she came back, Nick asked, "What was that about?"

Rosalee smiled, rolling her eyes. _"Eisbeibers._ Easily startled, easily scared. That one just happened to be our repairman."

They shared a laugh, then began transferring the cooler's contents back to the fridge.

_(Halfway across town, Renard watched as the blond woman introduced herself to Hank Griffin at the bar he and Sgt Wu as Catherine and asked to buy him dinner. He would've done it differently, but the only one who mattered in this situation was Nick and if Hank had to be collateral damage then so be it.)_

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Monroe could hear the violin from outside. Nick was right, the playing was beautiful. Monroe was tempted to wait until Roddy had finished his song, but he didn't want to delay this conversation. Nick and Rosalee were expecting him back before too long and he wasn't one to disappoint. He may not have been a good man, but he was careful to keep his promises to his lovers. He knocked on the door and the playing stopped. A rat squeaked, but Monroe paid it no mind. Rats tended to hang around _Reinigen_ , he would be surprised to find just one.

Another squeak and a light shuffle, then the door opened. Monroe was talking before the door even fully opened. "You were kicking some butt at that Brahms concerto, man. It was brilliantly executed, very fluid."

Roddy Geiger accepted the compliment but shook his head confusedly. "Who are you?"

"Monroe. We don't know each other." Monroe loathed the reaction he was about to get out of the next bit, "I'm a friend of Detective Burkhardt's."

Predictably, Roddy started to pull the door shut, "No thanks."

Monroe slipped his hand between the door and its frame, pulling it open again. "Ah!"

Roddy backed up, wisely knowing when he was beaten, giving Monroe a wide berth. The _Blutbad_ entered the house, "I wasn't finished." He pulled the door closed. "Now I don't normally do this kind of thing, but we both know who Nick is," Monroe thought of Nick, curled up against Monroe and Rosalee on the couch for no other reason that the slight chill in the air of the house, even after knowing what they were, "And he is _not_ like the other ones we've heard about. Capiche?"

Monroe let that set in for a moment, "Believe it or not, he's worried about you. And he knew you wouldn't talk to him, so he thought maybe you'd talk to me."

Roddy sighed, gestured widely as he sat on the couch. "About what?"

"About not being stupid," Monroe replied viciously. "He said you have talent, man, and it's _true._ I just heard it, and I've been around a lot of people who thought they had talent, yours truly is one of them. But the real thing, man, the real thing is an impossibility! You don't know where it comes from or what made it but it's one of the mysteries of life that lifts us all out of the misery of average." Monroe stood across from Roddy, "One of the problems is, you people who have it don't think it's a big deal. That just pisses me off."

Roddy's eyes gathered moisture, but no tears fell.

"So the bottom line is, you don't throw that away." Monroe sat in the chair behind him, "Is this going well? I feel like it should be more back and forth, no?"

Roddy shrugged, "I don't know."

Monroe smiled, "Yeah, you do. Just cause you're young doesn't mean you're smarter than me. Okay, so..." Monroe stood again, "Basically, what we're saying is, uh, just don't blow it." Monroe rubbed at his face, "Man, I'm tired. I'm not used to this intimate one-on-one thing, you know?" He sat in the seat closer to Roddy, taking no offense when the younger boy scooted away. He sighed, "I know, you're probably kind of weirded out. A _Reinigen_ getting advice from a _Blutbad_. It doesn't ever really happen, but listen to me." Monroe took a breath, "Sometimes, our lives collide in the most bizarre ways. Right?"

Roddy looked down, by the scent of him remembering someone he loved. Maybe the boy in the picture behind him sitting next to the rat on the shelf.

Monroe also got nothing more, "Still nothing? Okay," he cuffed Roddy on the should and stood. "Well, you know what I'm saying. Right? And if you ever need anything." Monroe pulled his clockmaker card from his pocket and passed it to Roddy. Monroe smiled at the teenager. "Call me," then he headed for the door.

"Monroe?" Roddy asked before he could stop himself.

The man turned, "Yeah?"

"You said Detective Burkhardt was your friend. He didn't threaten you to come out here, right?"

Monroe shook his head with a laugh, "No, he didn't."

Roddy puzzled over the card, "So why'd you come out here. Friends don't do that for their friends. They don't go to check on other kids they've just met."

Monroe laughed, "Well, Nick and I share a special relationship, Roddy. I and our friend Rosalee would do most anything for him. I'd imagine you probably feel the same about that kid in the picture over there."

Roddy glanced at the picture and nodded, "Yeah. I'd do anything for Carter." He looked at Monroe and nodded again, "Thanks."

Monroe nodded back and then the phone rang. Roddy held up a figure in the universal 'wait for a minute' sign and answered it. "Hello?" A pause, then, "Yeah." Another pause, "Is he okay?" Whatever was said next, Roddy didn't like it and he slammed the phone down.

Monroe tilted his head, "You alright kid?"

Roddy shook his head. "My Dad got hurt 'cause of that accident with Mr. Lawson. Because _Detective Burkhardt_ wouldn't let him go," he spat.

Monroe narrowed his eyes, "Kid if Nick didn't let your Dad go, it's because he's got a good reason."

"He did it because he's a Grimm and he wants to eradicate all _Wesen_. Congratulations to him, my Dad's in the infirmary because of that!" Roddy yelled.

Monroe's eyes flooded red, "Hey!" He stalked forward, grabbing Roddy's shoulder and gripping it tightly, "Nick isn't like that! You Dad probably didn't have an alibi he could back up or did something stupid like you're about to do."

"How do you know he isn't like that!" Roddy snapped back.

Monroe _woged_ and growled, "Because I live with him." The _woge_ receded, but the red eyes did not, "I've been sick and vulnerable around him, I've been with him for two years, myself and Rosalee. If he wanted us dead in the two months since he's discovered his Grimm powers, he'd have done it already. I share his bed and I've slept with him in the room. If he wanted to kill your Dad he wouldn't have sent him to prison, he'd have let the man go for lack of evidence and killed him in his home then come back for you. Instead, he put your father in custody and sent me here to talk to you."

Roddy looked at Monroe with wide eyes.

Monroe backed off, eyes finally turning brown again, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I've never done well when people talked bad about those close to me. I've always hated it. Did I hurt you?"

Roddy shook his head, "No." Then he tilted his head, "Detective Burkhardt is your mate, isn't he?"

Monroe chuckled, "Yeah, him and Rosalee. As I said, I'd do anything for him."

Roddy smiled, "Thanks, Monroe."

Monroe smiled back, then left for real. On the way home, he called Nick and let him know how the talk with Roddy had gone.

Back in the trailer, Roddy wasn't destroying things, as he'd wanted to, but staring at the picture of the people he'd played with and the boy he'd loved. In a sudden spike of anger, he tossed the picture of the original quartet on the ground and stomped it with his boot. He started to do the same with the picture of him and Carter, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He held the picture above his head, ready to throw it, but then the energy drained out of him and he hugged the picture close to his chest, "Why'd you have to leave?" He laid down and cried. Eventually, he wore himself out and fell into an exhausted sleep.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

"Once we got confirmation that the Nylon fibers were used in German cars, we ruled out the teacher's car," Hank informed Renard.

"We ran every student registration at the Von Hamlen institute to see if we could find a match with the fibers," Nick added.

They'd been called in not long after they'd gotten back the search results; Renard wanted an update to give to the press and Hank and Nick happy to provide one. Renard sighed, "I'm guessing half the student body drive German cars."

"We narrowed it down to just BMWs and Audis that use the nylon we're looking for," Hank replied. "But the style is only used in SUVs."

"We clicked it down from there to a half-dozen students. One of them allegedly fought with Roddy- Trey Harrison. Ans he drives a BMW-X5, which is a match with the fibers." Nick handed the papers to Renard.

Renard looked at the papers, then up at Nick and Hank, "Get a warrant."

Hank smiled at Nick and nodded, they rushed out.

_(Roddy had gotten angry by the time he woke up again, but not at Nick. Nick was far kinder to him than many people had ever been to him. He was angry with Trey, Sarah, Marvin, and Carter. He headed out to the cages and stared at the rats, silently asking for their help. Each rat squeaked their agreement and Roddy smiled, breaking open each of the cages and letting the rats come out. He grabbed another cage and let the rats out, quietly setting them off to the side and letting them leave. He tore open the box that housed the neon pink cat head, setting it and his violin off to the side. Once all of the rats where gone, he began destroying the cages, angrily tearing them to pieces and crushing them._

_He grabbed everything flammable, tossed it in the middle of the building, and lit a match, then a cigarette. He didn't smoke anymore, Carter had begged him to quit and he'd not wanted to pick it back up again, but he still had a pack. He let the cigarette burn, then dropped it into the flammable materials and left, letting the whole place burn behind him.)_

Back at the school, Sarah, Marvin, and Trey were heading home after practice. Sarah was telling them about what had happened earlier in the day. "Roddy knows we did it," she finished putting her case in her backseat.

"Saying it and proving it are two different things," Trey snapped back.

"Carter asked me if we did it," Marvin added quietly.

"You weren't dumb enough to say yes." Sarah hissed.

"No, but I'm a little bit freaking out here. Everybody knows that even with the lessons, Roddy is a lot better player than Carter. The only reason Carter got the chair is that we got Roddy booted." Marvin replied.

Sarah growled, "Grow some!' Then her phone chimed and she checked it. She glanced at Trey with a smile, "DJ Retchid Kat rave tonight."

"Awesome," Trey replied.

Marvin's phone chimed with the same notification, "Are we going?"

"Well, those of us with the _balls_ are," Sarah replied as she slipped into her car.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

"This is ridiculous, my son had nothing to do with what happened to Dr. Lawson!" shouted Mr. Harrison, shaking the warrant in his hand.

Nick paid the man no mind, letting Hank deal with him. Hank replied, "That's what we're here to find out."

"Then I should call a lawyer," Mr. Harrison snapped.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Well, that's your privilege, sir, but you'll still need to open your son's car." Nick very much enjoyed the next bit, "Or we'll have to do it by force."

The man growled, "This is great. This is where my tax money goes." He pulled the keys and unlocked the car, leaving Sgt Wu and a few other people free to go through it. "What do you think you're going to find? There's nothing in there."

"That's what they all say," Wu mumbled to himself. He pulled a blanket, "We've got holes!"

"Bag it!" Hank replied as Nick headed over to help.

Nick studiously ignored the outraged protest of Trey Harrison's father, "What do we have here?"

Sgt Wu pulled out the tweezers and then the small rat droppings, "Not a chocolate trip."

"And the color of the carpeting matches the fibers we've got." Nick pulled himself from the back end of the car, heading back to Hank and the father of one of their suspects.

"Sir, we're going to impound your car." Hank took great pleasure in the resounding anger from the man.

"Tell us where your son is" Nick demanded.

"I'm not saying anything to you until I talk to a lawyer," the man snapped.

"Well, in that case, we have to put a warrant out for his arrest, he'll be taken to central jail-" Hank's phone began ringing as Mr. Harrison began his protests of 'he's just out with friends'.

"Who?" Nick replied.

"He left with Marvin about an hour ago. They were going to see a movie."

"Nick," Hank called. "We got a fire at the Geiger house."

Nick started after Hank, calling, "You got this?" to Wu as he rushed off.

"Yeah, got it. Go," Sgt Wu replied.

They got there as the firemen were getting the fire out. When they were allowed on the scene, Nick found the cages empty, "Somebody let the dogs out. "

Hank replied, "And I'm guessing it's the same somebody who trashed this picture frame." Hank held up the broken frame.

Nick looked at Hank with something akin to the look he'd had when Adalind Schade was a target on the case with the lumber mill. "We'd better get to Sarah's house." They rushed off in hopes of getting out there before something drastic happened.

_(Roddy walked calmly down the docks, anger pouring from every inch of him. It radiated into the night. He didn't play his violin, but the rats still followed him. Hundreds of them did, each of them racing after him like they were starving and Roddy held the last source of food for them. Roddy continued, his army of rats growing the further he walked. He laughed to himself as he kept on, knowing those punks wouldn't know what hit them.)_

Nick got the feeling they were too late as Hank pulled up to Sarah Jessup's house. He got out and raced up the steps, knocking on the door. Hank came up behind him and the pair shared a brief look before Mrs. Jessup came to the door. "We need to talk to your daughter," Nick told the woman.

"Why? She hasn't done anything." Mrs. Jessup stared at the pair of them like they were lower than dirt.

"We need to know where she is, she might be in danger," Hank replied. He was in no mood for games.

Mrs. Jessup sighed, "She's with friends at the movies."

"You need to call her." Nick's eyes were sharp and while he tried to hide it, the way the woman ushered them in said maybe she saw the pure frustration on his face.

When Mrs. Jessup tried to call her daughter, a phone rang inside the house making the Detectives snap around to find the source of the noise. "She didn't take her phone," Mrs. Jessup bemoaned.

Nick walked over to the counter and picked up the phone. On it was a text message to Carter stating _DJ RETCHID KAT - WAREHOUSE ON FRONT STREET - TONIGht!_ He looked at Hank and nodded, setting the phone down, "I think we've got it." They bid Mrs. Jessup a good night, ignoring her protests, and left for the warehouse.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Marvin drove the car, bopping his head to the music, while Trey sat in the passenger seat grooving to the beat. Sarah and Carter sat in the back, Cart tapped his foot and danced wildly when he got passionate, but otherwise was still and Sarah was quiet and still in her seat. Sarah hoped no one opened their mouths about this, it would be hard to deal with the fallout.

_(In the warehouse, candles were lit all around and thousands of rats moved where the music directed them as Roddy requested them to do this or that. It would end tonight, one way or the other.)_

When the four kids arrived at the warehouse, Carter was more subdued than the others, trailing behind them like a scorned dog. Trey noticed first. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Did you guys do it?" Carter asked folding his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah demanded more than asked.

"You know what I'm talking about," Carter replied.

"Are you crazy. Come on, let's go." Sarah put her hands on his shoulder, tipping his hat affectionately, but he shook her off.

"Did you get Roddy suspended?" he asked. He wanted to know, _needed_ to know that Roddy was justified in his anger with the phone call where he'd yelled at Carter. Carter wanted to believe his friends, but there were too many missing links, too many holes, too many suspicions.

"No," Trey said firmly. "He jumped me I defended myself. You saw it."

"What's the matter, you wanna be with rat-boy now?" Sarah added with a grin.

Carter wasn't sure what he'd seen that day and he'd rather be with Roddy for an _hour_ than his friends for the night, but he still nudged Sarah's side with a smile and a "Shut _up_." Then followed them inside where the music was too loud and the beat was fantastic. There wasn't a single person inside the warehouse aside from them and Carter honestly thought that should've been their first clue something was about to go very wrong. He still followed his friends downstairs, even as discomfort built in his gut and goosebumps raised on his arms. He voiced his protests to his friends but was overruled. He sighed as he followed them to the basement.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Nick hoped they weren't too late when they got to the warehouse and got out. Hank recognized Marvin's car and Nick identified the source of the music. They followed the loud music into the basement. Nick led the way, their footsteps echoing down the old stairs.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Carter wanted to say he'd known, but listening to Retchid Kat lay out what the others had done filled his stomach with dread. He shoved Trey's shoulder, "So you did do it! He tried to tell me." Carter looked down, "And I didn't believe him." Carter felt awful for not believing Roddy when the musician had tried to tell him.

"Now, it's your turn," Retchid Kat snapped.

"What?" Sarah stepped back.

DJ Retchid Kat brought up a violin and began playing Danse Macabre.

"Oh my God, it's Roddy," Marvin panicked.

"DJ Retchid Kat is Roddy," Carter echoed.

Trey stepped forward and yelled, "This isn't funny, man!"

They got distracted by rats running under their feet and crawling up their legs. Sarah screamed as they began hopping around and trying to escape, but as the distorted voice of Roddy Geiger boomed through the air, they knew there was no escaping.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

Nick and Hank followed the screams, finding tons of rats through the warehouse. Hank groaned, "Oh God, this is not good."

Nick pulled his weapon when a high pitched scream rang through the dark and glanced at Hank. They rushed further into the warehouse, hearing a distorted voice ask, "How does it feel?" They came upon the scene as Sarah lay on the ground begging the others to get the rats off of her and more rats herding Carter off into a corner. Hank fired his gun and the spell was broken. The rats scattered into the dark.

"Oh my God," Nick breathed. Hank ran over to help Sarah get the rats off of her and help her up. Nick approached Carter to do the same for the rats clinging to his shoulders but Carter shook his head and gently shooed the rats away. Nick glanced over to Hank to find Sarah shaking as she clutched Hank's jacket. In the distance, a figure slipped away intrigue shadows, but when Nick blinked, he couldn't be sure he'd seen the figure at all. They herded the kids outside, where Trey, Marvin, and Sarah spilled about how they hadn't meant to hurt Dr. Lawson, just scare him. They'd wanted to make it look like Roddy had done it so that Carter could take Roddy's place.

Carter glared at the three and snapped, "Did you ever think to ask me if I _wanted_ Roddy's chair? I was happier in the second chair!" Then he turned his back to them and didn't speak to them again.

As the Detectives led the three off, Sarah asked, "Roddy was better than all of us. Will you tell him the I'm sorry?"

"Maybe you should do that," Hank replied.

"Guess they're going to have to face the music," Wu said to Hank as he watched them go.

"Really, you went there?" Hank asked in disbelief.

"Somebody had to," the Sergeant replied.

Under the warehouse, Nick was following up on a hunch. He followed the tunnel until he came upon a downtrodden teen.

"You want my weapon?" Roddy asked, gesturing to the violin.

"Carter had nothing to do with it and he didn't know his friends did it," Nick told him, lowering the flashlight. "Was this worth it?" he asked.

Roddy glanced back up at Nick, "They deserved it."

Nick shook his head, "That's not what I asked."

Roddy offered a smirk, "They never would've admitted anything."

Nick scoffed. "Can't say I ever used rats to get a confession." He smiled, then sobered, walking forward to stand next to Roddy, "You're lucky no one got hurt."

"Except Dr. Lawson. And Carter." Roddy looked even more downtrodden. "I didn't want to hurt him. The rats didn't touch him, just herded him away from the others so he didn't get hurt when they did. He's the only _Kehrseite_ I ever told about _Wesen,_ about me being a _Reinigen_ , and now I don't know if he'll ever talk to me again."

Nick popped a squat next to Roddy and said, "Just talk to him, Roddy. He knows the full you. He'll be at the station until someone comes to pick him up. Talk to him and I'm sure everything will work itself out."

Roddy nodded, "Detective?"

Nick tilted his head, "Hmm?"

"That guy you sent to check on me, Monroe? He said you were his mate. How did you know you loved him?" Roddy asked, looking at Nick with wide eyes.

Nick was stumped for a moment, then he smiled, "It was like my soul looked up one day and saw him. Then it said, 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you.'" Nick winked conspiratorially at Roddy and stood. He turned and walked outside, managing to catch Hank before he left the crime scene. They headed back to the station to start their paperwork. Nick sprung for pizza on the way back and as they wrote their reports, Hank asked about the number of rats, Nick offered a thousand in lieu of a million, which no one would've believed.

"What are we gonna charge this kid with?" Hank asked.

"Well, if it was up to me, nothing." Nick dug through his desk drawer again but didn't find what he was looking for.

"Well, we gotta charge him with something, he took four kids and trapped them."

"With music and rats and violins?" Nick stood, going to search elsewhere. "No one forced those kids to go down there."

"So all we got on Roddy is an illegal rave with five people?"

"D.A.'s not gonna want this, plus they gotta deal with those other kids." Nick found what he'd been looking for and went back to his seat.

"How's a kid do something like that?" Hank asked.

"Well, he was an outsider. He got pushed too far."

"No, no, I got that. I'm talking about how he got all those rats to go down to that building."

"Oh," Nick paused a moment, thought about how best to word this, then shrugged and replied, "I don't know. There's a lot of rats in the city."

"Maybe they like raves." Hank leaned forward as Nick huffed out a laugh. "It was a rat rave."

"Do _not_ put that in the report!" Nick smiled, then offered Hank some of the pizza. When Hank jumped a foot in the air with a yelp, "That's not funny!", Nick laughed at the older man's protests, replying with, "Oh, it's funny if you knew it was there."

"Chuckle now, but payback's a bitch and she bites," Hank warned the younger. He picked up the squeaker toy and set it on his desk with a glare, "This'll remind me."

Nick shook his head with a smile, going back to his report. Hours later, when he looked up to follow Sgt Wu's direction, he saw Roddy Geiger and smiled. He led the younger to the interrogation room, where Carter was still waiting for his parents, curled up on the floor under his jacket and a blanket (Wu kept one stashed in his locker for emergencies), and using his arm as a pillow, his hat sitting above his head. Roddy looked at Nick and smiled, "You're not such a bad guy. Maybe I don't know everything about you at all."

Nick chuckled, "And I certainly don't know everything about you, Roddy. You can wait with him if you'd like, he said his parents won't come to get him until they get off work in an hour. I'll stay here until then."

Roddy nodded, then walked inside the room and sat down next to Carter. Nick left them to their devices and headed back to his desk. Hank had already finished his report and gone home. Nick would've gone home already, but he promised Carter that he'd stay until the teen's parents came to get him, so he'd stay. He was caught up on paperwork now. but he didn't mind the overtime. He'd go turn the reports into Renard in a bit.

But first, he glanced around and slipped into an empty corridor and pulled out his personal cellphone. He dialed a familiar number and waited patiently for the person to answer.

" _Monroe._ "

Nick smiled, "It's me."

" _Nicky, hey. Rose is here too, let me put you on speaker._ " A click and it was done. Rosalee called a greeting through the phone.

Nick's smile widened, "Hey." Then he leaned back against the wall, "How was your night? I'm sorry I couldn't make it home." A pause as he listened to the pair talk about the _Eisbeiber_ who came back to get the tools he'd left behind.

Nick slid down the wall to sit on the floor with his knees to his chest, "Tell me all about it."

**Author's Note:**

> Pretend Carter was threatened with the military school if he even thought about Roddy again. I like to imagine that Carter left his parents home and moved in with Roddy after this story. Roddy's dad was cool with them, so that was fine. The moment Carter turned 18, he was smart enough to ask the bank to transfer everything into a new account that his parents had no control over. Roddy and Carter got married a month before the season 2 finale and Nick was invited alongside Monroe and Rosalee. 
> 
> They're not even primary characters and I'm willing to plan out a life for them. Maybe I make a story for them. I want a happy ending for them.


End file.
